The human brain is a beautiful thing, and continues to fascinate scientists and researchers around the globe. The brain is so magnificent that it produces enough electricity to power a small light bulb, and can produce 70,000 thoughts a day (on average). By 2023, computers may operate as fast as the human brain.
Unfortunately, it seems as though the NFL lacks appreciation for the wonder that is the human brain. But it only makes sense—players aren’t expected to think, just react and run into the person in front of them as hard as they can using their heads. This lack of appreciation (or total disregard) on behalf of the NFL is the reason for the concussion crisis, and largely the reason why Will Smith’s newest film Concussion (being released Dec. 25) isn’t receiving the publicity that it rightfully should.
I first heard about the movie from my boyfriend, who is not a fan of sports (I know, shocking right? I mean he is dating the Benchwarmer). I watched the trailer and was immediately intrigued. I also thought to myself “FINALLY! Someone is going to attempt to speak the truth!” Sigh. But hey, I can have my delusions right?
Sadly, I wasn’t surprised by television and the NFL’s lack of advertising for this movie. The NFL has a dirty habit of wanting to cover up the truth with threats, payoffs, lies, and half-truths. So with the concussion crisis—one of the bigger issues plaguing football in recent years—it comes as no surprise that the NFL is attempting to sweep the concussion issue under their massive corporate rug of denial.
So why is the NFL worried about the release of this movie? Probably because Hollywood will end up telling more of the truth than the corporation responsible for this issue in the first place—with a flair for the dramatic, of course.
The movie centers on Nigerian born doctor Bennet Omalu (played by Smith), the first doctor to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that has been shown to lead to cognitive impairment, mood disorders, physical pain, depression, and memory loss. CTE is largely caused by repetitive hits to the head; on average a football hit that leads to a concussion contains 100 gs (g-force) of force. And it was the brain of former Steeler’s center Mike Webster that helped Omalu discover CTE.
Webster, a Hall of Fame inductee, died at the young age of 50 after a series of personal and medical issues. Reports from The Huffington Post stated that Webster was often reclusive, and was homeless, broke, and without health insurance at the time of his death in 2002—two years after being put into the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, CTE can only be determined after death when the brain is examined posthumously.
Omalu, innocent to the insensitive ways of the NFL, thought the NFL would want to know more about his discovery and shared his findings with them. Wrong. League doctors publicly denounced his research, and the NFL only cared about the research in terms of what it meant for the future of football. Surprising? No. The NFL owns a night of the week on television, it’s a business—that’s the bottom line.
But Omalu was just the start, the spark that lit the concussion fire if you will. Increasingly, there is more and more research popping up on CTE, and it’s becoming much harder for the NFL to cover it up or deny it. Researchers from Boston University studied the brains of 165 people who played football at the high school, college, and national levels. They found evidence of CTE in 131 of them (that’s 79 percent) and of the brains studied, 91 of them belonged to former NFL players. These numbers are incredibly overwhelming.
But the NFL is attempting to keep their blinders on—you know that whole “ignorance is bliss” thing? In this case, ignorance means more money, but so it goes in corporate America. Granted, the NFL’s 2015 Health and Safety Report showed that the number of concussions has decreased since 2012. Even still, there were 14 concussions reported in the first three weeks of the 2015 season.
In order to reduce the incidents of concussions (thus decreasing the prevalence of CTE), there are three things that need to happen. One, coaches need to drop the machismo “you just got your bell rung, get back out there and play” crap because that victory mongering is permanently damaging players’ center of existence.
Two, the league or teams need to consider a different tackling style, such as one that doesn’t require the use of the head.
And three, the biggest one, is the NFL needs to own up to the issue. I could MAYBE understand their denial if this issue was being perpetuated by people who dislike the sport—but it’s not. The director for the Concussion film played football in college while Will Smith watched his son play four years of high school football. It’s also being perpetuated by me. And I love football. And the more you lie, the guiltier and more reprehensible you become.
I truly don’t see any other reason for the NFL sweeping this problem under the rug and not promoting this new film as an attempt to educate its players—other than money. As a business, the NFL values the dollar more than the well-being and safety of the players who sacrifice their bodies for the league, regardless of how much these players are being paid. Aside from all that, the NFL (with its myriad other issues) has yet to figure out that the truth always has a way of coming out. But it’s always better when the truth comes straight from the horse’s mouth—so to speak.
It’s really quite silly that the NFL is so dishonest and hush-hush, and their fear of this movie proves that they have been hiding, and continue to hide, the truth about concussions in football. What really irritates me is knowing this league and its players are an inspiration for younger players. If the NFL doesn’t take concussions seriously, or validate them as an actual issue, why would these younger players be honest about symptoms of a potential concussion?
Look people, the thing is it’s not just football that puts athletes at risk for concussion. Girls’ soccer and basketball, ice hockey, and boys’ lacrosse also rank high for having a lot of concussions. Any athlete with a brain will acknowledge that there is an inherent risk of serious injury involved in EVERY sport. Hell, I played softball for 15 years; I was hit by a bat, and as a pitcher I had numerous balls hit directly at my dome that could have caused a brain injury. But I still played, because very often the things we love most in life will be the ones that kill us.
The NFL has a responsibility to football players at all levels to own up to the issue of concussions. It’s the fulcrum point of change within football, and a more proactive, positive, and educational stance on its part could lead to healthy changes and a safer game for football athletes across America.
It’s simple—as stated in the upcoming film: tell the truth, NFL. Just. Tell. The. TRUTH.
But what do I know? I’m just a Benchwarmer, and you can best believe I’ll be watching the movie and the NFL won’t.
Contact the Benchwarmer through Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 17-24, 2015.
